Railroads stemmed from early tramways that transported stone, coal and
similar mined materials. These early systems were not steam driven, but
pulled by animals, usually in combination with gravity. The first steam
train in the United States was the "Sourbridge Lion," brought over from
England by the Delaware and Hudson Canal and Railroad Company and was
in operation in 1829. For a comparison, the Transcontinental Railroad
was
completed in 1869. On the island of Jamaica, the Jamaica Railway
Company
built its first complete railroad in 1843.

Henry Morrison Flagler was born in Hopewell, New York on January 2,
1830,
the son of a struggling Presbyterian minister. Morrison was the name of
his mother's first husband (Hugh Morrison) who had died. Henry
left
school after the eighth grade to go work for the Harkness family in
Ohio.
The Harkness family was his mother's second husband's family (David
Harkness)
and played a helpful role in
Henry's life for many years. To begin his
new life, he found work on a barge traveling the newly opened Erie
Canal
to Lake Erie where he traveled overland to the small Harkness store in
Republic, Ohio. There he began work with his half-brother, Dan
Harkness.

He had arrived almost penniless. Working hard and learning all facets
of
the mercantile business, he was promoted to manager when Dan moved to a
larger store in Bellevue, Ohio, the principal hometown of the Harkness
family. After a total of five years, he then moved to Bellevue where he
bought out a partner in one of the Harkness operations with money he
had
saved.

In Bellevue he courted and married his step-uncle's (Lamon
Harkness)
second daughter, Mary Harkness, November
9, 1853. Henry and Mary had
two
daughters, Jennie Louise and Carrie. Carrie died at age three.

The company expanded into the grain and distillery businesses, and the
latter was sold after making
considerable money. One of the grain
brokers
he shipped grain to was John D. Rockefeller in Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1862, Flagler and Barney York formed a salt producing company that
boomed
because of demand brought on by the Civil War. He sold his interest in
the grain business to his half brother and moved to Saginaw, Michigan.
When the Civil War ended in 1865, so did the huge demand for salt. The
Flagler and York Salt Company went bankrupt a year later, and Flagler
retained
a $50,000 debt.

Instead of returning to Bellevue, the Flagella's moved to Cleveland,
Ohio
where he re-entered the grain business and renewed his connections with
John D. Rockefeller. Handsome profits from the grain business allowed
him
pay off his debt and to have sufficient money to invest in a new
adventure.

His conversations with John Rockefeller mostly involved petroleum and
not
grain. In 1868 at age 37, he joined with John
Rockefeller and Samuel
Andrews
to form the Rockefeller, Andrews and Flagler Oil Refinery the RAF
Refinery.

- Standard
Oil Days
-

From this point, everything snowballed for Henry Flagler. In 1870, the
Standard Oil Company was formed, with Flagler as a major stockholder.
Under
Flagler's guidance, Standard Oil began buying out almost all the
smaller
refineries, and became a monopoly. Later in his life, he
was called
before
Congress for possible violations of anti-trust laws.
Also, in 1870,
Flagler's
first and only son, Harry Harness Flagler, was born. By 1884, Standard
Oil moved its headquarters to New York City, and was considered the
largest
and richest industrial company in the world. Flagler and Rockefeller
moved
to New York City in 1887, but kept their Cleveland homes.

Meanwhile, Mary had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and her health had
been declining. Her doctor recommended she avoid the harsh New York
winters
and seek a warmer climate during the colder months. Florida was chosen
for the winter of 1878 and the Flagler's set out for
Jacksonville,
Florida.

When Flagler arrived in Jacksonville, Florida, he found the most
backward
state on the Atlantic Coast. Key West was Florida's largest populated
city
of about 10,000; Jacksonville 7,000; St. Augustine 2,300; Tampa 1,000
and
Daytona 321. Miami was just a settlement, not yet a city.

In Jacksonville, Henry found few amenities for the vacationer and
was quickly bored. It could also have been the almost daily "vacation
managing"
of the rapidly growing Standard Oil Company. In 1878, lawsuits, civil
and criminal lawsuits began along with investigations. After a few
weeks Henry,
Mary
and Harry returned to New York City as Mary would not remain in Florida
without Henry. Mary's condition grew steadily worse, and she eventually
died in New York at age 48, on May 18, 1881. Young Harry was 10 years
old.
Henry had his sister, Carrie, move in and help with the care of Harry.
Jennie Louse, now married, also made frequent visits.

In 1882, under the Standard Oil Trust, Standard companies were created
in many states, With stockholder's approval Flagler became President of
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. In spite of this, Flagler began
spending less and less time in the New York offices.

On June 5, 1883, Flagler married one of his first wife's nurses, Id
Alice
Shourds. He was too busy to honeymoon in the summer, so in the winter
they
went to Florida, but this time to St. Augustine, Florida. Things
appeared
to be different now, as Flagler became interested in Florida. He
reduced
his workload with Standard Oil even more and at age 53 he turned to a
new
vocation.
-

A
New Home

In 1885 he began with purchasing a small hotel in St.. Augustine, the
Sunnyside,
an in a long story built two hotels, the Ponce de Leon and the
Alcazar,
and purchased the third
from a competitor, renaming it the Cordova. To
make his hotels more accessible, he purchased and rebuilt a short-line
railroad company and this is how he entered the railroad
business. He
also
built in St. Augustine several churches, a hospital, waterworks,
electric
and sewer utilities, and a winter home for the family - the
Kirkside.

It was 1885 when he purchased a short-line railroad between
Jacksonville
and St. Augustine, which was the forerunner of the Florida East Coast
Railway
(F.E.C Rwy.). He had tried to convince the previous railroad owners to
improve the system. They shook their heads "no," and their "no" proved
to be a turning point in Flagler's life and Florida's history - Flagler
needed appropriate transportation facilities.

On December 1885, Flagler bought controlling stock in the
'Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Halifax River Railway,' made himself
president and appointed his own general manager. Soon after he bought
half of the newly formed Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West,
Railway Co.

To promote better and more transportation in Florida, in 1893, the
Florida
Legislature passed a new law increasing from 3, 840 to 8,000 acres per
mile for all railroad constructed south of Daytona, Florida. Almost
immediately, Flagler created a new company, the 'Jacksonville, St.
Augustine, and Indian River Railway Company.' Under the new company, he
constructed 117 miles of railway from New Smyrma to Lake Worth
completing on November 2, 1893. Major stops were Titusville and
Rockledge. Florida's northern East coast had daily rail service to and
from the northeastern states.

He started extending his railroad lines to the south, first to Ormond
Beach,
Florida and then to Palm Beach, Florida in 1893. To support the Flagler
System, he purchased existing, or built new railroads. Again he also
built
schools, hospitals, churches, fire stations, city halls, courthouses
and
utilities.
In the April 19, 1893 Board of Directors
minutes, Flagler
resolved
to extend the railway from some point on Key Biscayne across the
Florida
Keys to Key West as well as across the state to Tampa. This is his
first official intention to build to Key West - and it never changed.
The dye was set for the remainder of
Florida's east coast completing each stepping stone per this resolution
of April 19, 1893
forward. This is often overlooked justifying each stepping stone
southward as incentives presented themselves.

In Palm Beach he opened the world's largest hotel, the Royal
Poincinana, in 1894 and the Palm Beach Inn in 1895 - renaming it the
Breakers in 1901. He built Alice and himself a huge home in Saint
Augustine, Kirkside.
-

Railroad
to Miami

Following the great Florida freezes of
December,
1894 and January and February of 1895, Julia Tuttle, the mother of
Miami, contacted Flagler through his vice-presidents, Messrs. Parrott
and Ingraham, and advised them that the region south of the New River
(Ft. Lauderdale) was untouched by the freezes.

Flagler with his
stated quest for Key West had
already considered the Key Biscayne area for expansion, but not yet
seriously - only one visit. The Model Land Company vice president,
James
Ingraham, was sent to gather details in Miami. Upon receiving
Parrott's,
Ingraham's and Tuttle's reports, Mr. Flagler asked to set up a visit to
Mrs. Tuttle. After his visit he proposed six items, the first two was
he was to be given 100 acres for a hotel and she could reserve 17 acres
of the
river and ocean property for her personal use, and he was to receive
one half of her Fort
Dallas property. This would total about 370 acres. In addition, he was
to receive one half of all her holdings between Fort Worth and Cape
Sable - these acres are not known by the author, but he does believe
this was one reason when he considered to continue his 1893 resolve to
build to Key West. First, he
surveyed a route to Cape Sable where he owned land.

The William Brickell family owned 640 acres south of
the Miami River and gave out right 320 acres to compliment the Tuttle
370 acres on the north side of the Miami River - Key West was becoming
closer, but resolving the Dr. Henry Perrine grant had to be resolved.

Mr. Flagler also agreed to immediately
start a large hotel and build water, electric and sewer public
facilities for a new community, a contract was signed, and the railroad
reached Miami on April 15, 1896, with the first passenger train
operating into the community on the shores of Biscayne Bay on April
22. On July 28, 1896, without every having been a village or a
town or an incorporated municipality of any kind, the City of Miami
sprang into existence and over the weekend of July 26--July 28, 1896,
the FEC Railway and the City celebrated their Centennial in a grand and
gala joint event. The Royal Palm Hotel opened January 15, 1897 with 350
rooms, two electric elevators, a swimming pool, and an electric
generator for the hotel and the city.
The popular story is that it took a cold winter freeze of 1894/95 and
Mrs.
Julia B. Tuttle to persuade him to continue to Miami. In reality it was
the 8,000 acres granted from the state for each mile of railroad track
he built and the gift of about 600 acres by two local families of what
was to be downtown Miami that brought
Flagler to Fort Dallas on April 16, 1896. Fort Dallas incorporated as
Miami
in July that same year. Most believe that he also had a vision of
proceeding further south.

A note at this time. The Flagler System denoted all of the Flagler
entities,
e.g. the Florida East Coast Railway (F.E.C. Rwy.) which he created in
September 1895, the entire system of
hotels, the land holding companies, the Florida East Coast Steamship
Company created in 1897, Peninsular & Occidental
(P&O)
Steam Ship Company (1901) and all other subsidiaries as the Model Land
Company. The overseas railroad is
correctly titled the Key West Extension, Flagler System.

In 1897, Flagler's second wife Ida Alice, was committed to an insane
asylum
in New York. Insanity was not grounds for divorce in either New York or
Florida. Flagler convinced the Florida Legislature to change its law in
1901 and he married his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan, whom he had known
for about eight years. As a wedding present he built the Palm Beach
mansion
named Whitehall. Florida later repealed this change in the divorce law
.

In Miami as in other places, Flagler built an electric company, water
company,
schools, churches, streets and homes for his workers. In 1899, he
purchased
three ships to transport people to and from the Bahamas where he owned
two more hotels. For his ships to enter the Miami harbor he had to
dredge
a channel through Biscayne Bay to the docks, but it was not sufficient
to be considered a deep water seaport - only nine feet deep. As years
passed, the depth of the channel was slowly deepened.

During the Spanish - American War, the federal government used the
Tampa
seaport and the Henry Plant railway, as Tampa had a deep water seaport.
In 1903, the United States signed an agreement to construct the Panama
Canal. Flagler envisioned Key West with its natural deep water seaport
as the shipping hub for all the ships passing through the canal,
connecting
South and Central America, the U. S. and Cuba. His trains would thus
provide
land deliveries throughout the east coast. As he had been eyeing Key
West
for some time, these additional motivations could have been the
deciding
factor for Flagler to push on to Key West.

Strange as it may seem, the editor of the Key West Gazette
suggested
a railroad linking Key West to the mainland as early as 1831. South
Florida's
first U.S. Senator, Stephen R. Mallory, also from Key West, while in
Washington
in the 1850s advocated the advantages of a Key West railroad. J. C.
Baily
while surveying for the International Ocean Telegraph Company in 1866
made
a survey route that could be used for a railroad.

Numerous proposals were made on paper, but all lacked financing. The
National Geographical Magazine in 1896 contained an article even
mentioning
Key West's hopes centering on Henry Flagler potential. The article
"Across
the Gulf by Rail to Key West" proposed the screw pile supports used for
construction of the lighthouses for bridge supports.

He
was temporarily blocked from going southward by the
existing approximate 36 square mile Perrine Grant. If you
lay a scaled 36
mile square piece of paper on a map of south east Dade County, a south
bound
railroad must
traverse within the boundaries of the Perrine Grant. Flagler kept
attorneys assigned to assist
the Dr. Henry Perrine heirs
for the 36 square mile southeast land claim from Congress. The
Flagler
attorneys followed to Supreme Court which ruled an appropriate division
of lands to the railroad, settlers, and Perrine family members in 1898.
With this decision, Flagler now had
his right-of-way property when and if he decided to make his move
further south.

It was the summer of 1902 when Flagler hired William J. Krome to survey
the best route to Key West, which at that time was thought to be across
the Everglades, to No Name Key and onward to Key West. They were to
conduct,
as we would say today, "a feasibility study" to extend the railroad to
Key West. To our knowledge, he never asked anyone whether or not it
would
be financially successful. If you are interested in a lengthy
presentation of the Cape Sable Expedition, please Click Here

Krome spent the remainder of 1902 until May of 1903 surveying across
the
Everglades to Cape Sable. This route was deemed unadvisable. He then
completed the Cutler Extension to
Homestead
and in early 1904, Krome was sent to survey from Homestead, across
northern Key Largo and out into Hawk Channel a route to Turtle
Harbor. At Turtle Harbor there was a finger passage of
over 20 feet depth of water which would serve as a deep water seaport
for Flagler's steamship lines. On July 6, 1904 the Turtle Harbor route
was
canceled
and a Homestead to Key West route across Cross Key, Bahia Honda to Key
West was mandated.

It is not certain, and there are various versions, when the following
conversation took place, if it did
at all, but the aging Flagler (74 years old) called in his F.E.C.
President,
Joseph R. Parrott, and reportedly asked him if the railroad extension
to
Key West could be built. "Yes, I am sure," was the reply. Mr.
Flagler
in turn said, "Very well then, go ahead. Go to Key West." Supposition
has
it that since this happened coinciding with the US negotiations to buy
the French concession to build the Panama Canal, perhaps the
Panama
Canal was an influence. We know and have copies of the plans approved
in April 1905. The project was announced to the public in the New
York Herald on June 28, 1905 and the article reprinted in the Tropical
Sun. What is a fact is that Senator E. C.
Crill, of Palatka, pushed through
bill number 11, granting certain rights and privileges for a railroad
to
the F.E.C. Rwy. The act became effective May 3, 1905 and afterwards
Flagler
publicly announced the extension of the railroad to Key West.

Regardless, this was an epic decision for the 74-year-old Flagler to
make.
He had practically built the east coast of Florida, had everything in
life
that any reasonable man could want, yet something pushed him on to new
horizons. He did this with his own money, not borrowed money and there
were no cutting corners to save money. About two fifths of all his
Florida
investments were used to complete the Key West Extension.

- Building
the Railroad to Key West -

At this point we will focus on Flagler's accomplishments with the Key
West
Extension in the Keys. For this project he needed an unusual team. For
its leader he chose Joseph Carroll Meredith as his chief construction
engineer.
The 28-year-old William Krome became the assistant construction
engineer. I have put together a presenation of the evolution of the Key
West Extension - if interested please Click Here

As this would be an overseas project, Flagler purchased, leased, or
built
most of the heavy marine equipment in the east. Land had to be donated,
purchased, or leased, as Flagler did not receive land grants in the
Keys other than water passages - he did own land preciously granted to
other railroad companies that he had bought.
So many of the transport ships in the Atlantic were employed solely to
transport
supplies and materials for Flagler that it created a minor shortage for
transporting other goods. It was a massive operation.

Using Krome's survey, plans were made to send advance teams ahead to
start
the more time consuming projects and the overland clearing throughout
the
Keys. Functional seaports and rail terminals had to be built at
Knight's
Key and Key West. The large bridges could not be started until huge
floating
concrete mixers could be constructed. Concrete mixer number 1 was towed
out of Miami on June 27, 1906. Work was begun throughout the Keys, not
just one huge work force moving southwest from Homestead. Over 130
acres of land was to be dredged/pumped in for the Key West Terminal.
The work camps
were, however, numbered from north to south from Homestead. Key Largo
was
camp 1 and Key West was camp 82.

By the spring of 1905, construction teams were dispersed throughout the
Keys. From the mainland, in April, two of the ten traveling dredges set
out from what would become Florida City across Cross Key to Jewfish
Creek.
One dredge worked on each side of the right-of-way, piling up fill to
form
a track rail bed in the center. Rock was transported and spread. Tracks
were laid on top of this rock foundation. The Woodall and Everglade
stations
were built on side tracks located where the vehicle passing lanes of
the
18-mile stretch are now, now (2007) being removed for a new 3-lane
highway.

This was time consuming work, but not difficult. Jewfish Creek
presented
them with their first bridging challenge. It had to be a drawbridge to
permit boat traffic even in those days also being replaced by a 65-foot
fixed span bridge.

The overall goal was Key West; but the intermediate goal was Knight's
Key
Dock. The immediate task was to lay as much track from Homestead as
possible.
This allowed Flagler to use his railroad mounted equipment, or "rolling
stock," which could carry huge loads, make more trips and deliver
directly
to the place of need. The water was too shallow for larger transport
ships,
so they used 150 huge barges to ferry supplies to shore.

The Flagler museum in Palm Beach has a lengthy collection of old
newspaper
clippings. They almost tell the story, and I will share some of them
with
you to show the progress. Unfortunately, some articles do not have the
newspaper's title, but are dated.

An October 28, 1905 Miami Metropolis newspaper clipping
provides
some indication of work: "The steamer Biscayne towed and
delivered
to the Keys two of the remaining double-decked houseboats [living
quarters]
recently completed. One of the boats will locate at Planter and the
other
at Matecumbe Key where camps will be established, both being under the
charge of Engineer Rogers."

W. P. Dusenbury was the engineer in charge of work on Key Largo. The
Jewfish
Creek bridge was not finished when the track arrived; however,
difficulty
in building a stable causeway across Lake Surprise was a greater
concern.
The lake was to be filled, not bridged. When fill was dumped in, it
sank
and disappeared. It appears that it took 15 months to construct a
satisfactory
fill that would support continuous trains across Lake Surprise.

Labor was a constant problem. The pay was $1.25 a day with food,
lodging
and medical care. Along with labor, lack of fresh water and mosquitoes
constantly haunted the project. It is said that a total of 40,000 men,
but never over 5,000 at any one time, were employed. An average of 4.5
million gallons of fresh water was required each month.

An unidentified clipping dated June 27, 1906: "Concrete Mixer No. 1 was
hauled out from the north end of the (Miami) terminal dock, and towed
to
its destination in the Keys by the steamer Columbia. This is an
indication that the arch and bridgework is soon to begin. Mixer No. 2
is
about ready [for delivery]."